Pork producers in desperate need of federal aid, say reps

Representatives of Canada’s pork farmers are warning the federal government that the sector is facing a “cash crisis” caused by backlogs at meat-packing facilities where processing has been disrupted by COVID-19 outbreaks.

Rick Bergmann, president of the Canadian Pork Council, which represents 7,000 producers in Canada, appealed to the House agriculture committee for more federal help on the council’s behalf on Tuesday.

Pork production, Bergmann said, could play a key role in restarting the economy, but producers are unsure of their future as COVID-19 depletes the revenue streams of many who rely on the just-in-time production model that’s left them shortchanged as incomes have stalled. They’re also awaiting additional government aid, saying the current funding is “not enough” to support pig farmers.

“Producers are at wits end in this time when we are seeking meaningful help — help that will make a difference,” Bergmann told MPs earlier this week.

Pork producers have experienced a backlog of livestock while various large-scale meat processing facilities across North America have had to stall or slow operations due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Employees typically work close together on processing lines at meat-packing plants, making them especially susceptible to spreading the contagion. Many facilities have hastened employee safeguards, including by heightening personal protective equipment requirements, but major facilities like Cargill’s 2,000-worker plant in Alberta have been reduced to one shift a day after an outbreak that’s also caused the employees’ union to challenge whether work should be permitted to continue at all.

Bergmann said producers can’t keep holding onto their animals, explaining that pigs move from barn to barn as they grow and as new livestock comes in. A hog farmer himself in Manitoba, Bergmann said he’s given away some piglets for free because he couldn’t sell them and needed to make room in his barns.

“These operations do not have the extra capacity to hold the animals,” he said. “Barns are designed to refill as soon a group of pigs are sold.”

While producers struggle to sell and process livestock, Bergmann said they have no income to pay bills, feed animals, and “keep the lights on.” He also said the industry is trying to manage a steep drop in market prices, with a slow recovery. He said the council’s “conservative estimates” show producers will lose at least $30 for each hog they sell in 2020, with some regions eating a $50 loss per head because of overall damage to the market.

“These losses are not sustainable at all,” he said. “They will force farmers out of business.”

René Roy, first vice-chair of the council’s board of directors and a producer in Quebec, said there’s a backlog of over 100,000 pigs in Ontario and Quebec alone who were due to be processed but are now stuck on farms. He said he thinks the federal government should be injecting crisis payments at a rate of $20 per hog to producers, based on what they expect to lose.

“We have said from the beginning that it’s up to the government to find the most effective and efficient means to get the money to pork producers as quickly as possible,” he said.

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said the federal government has responded to the urgent needs of producers by making changes to Business Risk Management (BRM) program AgriStability, like increasing advanced payments for up to 75 per cent and and extending the application deadline to July 3. On AgriRecovery, she said the government allocated the full $125 million to the program, whereas typically $15 million is spent. Bibeau also said she’s working with provinces and territories to fill gaps in the BRM programs.

“These changes to the AgriRecovery Program represent real leadership from the federal program on our BRM programs,” she said. “I know that producers would like to have these programs more generous and we are working with the provinces on this issue, but still, we have made AgriStability easier to access.”

The government also announced $50 million for a type of set-aside program, which has long been requested by the cattle industry. The program gives producers a daily allowance to help cover the cost of feed while the livestock awaits processing.

In an interview with iPolitics last week, Conservative agriculture critic John Barlow said the program works for cattle ranches who raise a few hundred heads from the time of a calf to when the animal goes to a feedlot, but said it’s more challenging for pig producers, as even small farms raise over 1,000 each month. He said a hog producer in his riding with 1,600 hogs spends around $300,000 feeding them each month.

“To have no details on how this is going to address the pork producers. . .they can’t hang onto the animal for an extended period of time, more than a few weeks,” he said.

Conservative MP Richard Lehoux said farmers are struggling while the wait for funding and wondered when the $50 million for the pork and beef sector would be available. He said hogs in his riding are being set aside, but are past the proper slaughter weight and farmers can’t hold onto them much longer because they continue to lose value while costing funds.

“Euthansia is an issue that is out there,” he said in French.

Roy said the injection of $20 per hog would help producers avoid welfare slaughter, saying AgriStability isn’t good at responding to emergency situations. He said farmers forced to euthanize pigs is resulting in food being removed from the supply chain, meaning Canada could come to rely on imports, while a continued reduction in processing could contribute to a food shortage.

“If we want producers to survive, they need liquidities immediately…so that we can continue producing quality food for Canadians,” he said.